My Side Hustle Might Be Killing Me

Too many times in the past year I’ve found myself falling into the millennial stereotype I’ve grown to resent more and more. A recent look at my financials led me to realized I am a stereotypical young adult who doesn’t haven’t a clue about how to save money. I need to create the much-discussed safety net, and my current situation isn’t going to cut it. As cost of living goes up, and salary growth stays stagnant, I knew I had to do something. I ran through the usual make money quick schemes. I’m too afraid of needles to sell plasma, I don’t have the connections to get into the used panties market, and I’d tried an Etsy shop last year that failed to gain any momentum. In the end, the solution I came up with was to get a second part-time job.

At first, the plan seemed easy. I would skate through for a few months or a year and then call it quits once I was stable. After implementing my genius strategy, I realized how in over my head I’ve gotten. It sucks, and not just in a minor inconvenience way. My entire schedule and life has taken a turn for the worst and I’m miserable.

During the Monday through Friday work week, I put in between 9-10 hours staring at a screen before I get to sit in the car and repeat the hour-long drive I took that morning in reverse. Three days a week, I head directly to my second job at a hotel front desk, where I’ll stay until 11 p.m.

Before, I could grasp on to the tiny ray of hope that was the weekend to get me through the slump of an unbearable week. Now, I’m up at 6 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday to head into an eight-hour shift checking people in and losing my will to live. Once this minimum wage work is over, Monday has rolled back around and the process starts all over again. No amount of coffee in the world can keep me chipper anymore, and I’m convinced permanent dark spots have formed under my eyes.

My social life has completely deteriorated at this point. Friday and Saturday nights that used to be fertile with antics and fun are now destroyed by capitalism. I’m lucky if I can shower, rub one out, scroll Twitter, and get in a good cry before heading to bed by 9:00 p.m. The two free evenings I do have on Tuesday and Thursday are spent cranking out as much of my grad school work I can manage, while I sneak in completing the rest during my lunch breaks later in the week. So much for some of the best years of my life.

I figured some of the sadness would be wiped away once I got my first paycheck. Money can’t buy happiness, but I certainly feel a temporary high after a direct deposit day. I can ride that wave for all its worth. Unfortunately, all said and done with taxes, I was making barely over $250 for all the extra work I was putting in. Instead of content, I realized just how worthless my time and effort is.

Ranting and complaining have become the new norm, but sometimes it does make me feel guilty. I think of all the people out there doing exactly what I’m doing but under even worse circumstances. I don’t have to worry about taking care of kids when I get off my hell shifts, and no one else is depending on my income to pay bills, or cover medical expenses. I make a real salary at my full-time job, and have health benefits and a 401k. Thinking about this doesn’t really ease the pain though. If anything, it just makes me feel sorry for myself AND the thousands of people barely scraping by.

I’m not sure how much longer I can do it. Long hours of feigning interest while people drone on about what they’re doing on vacation is wearing on me, and my fake smile may not hold. I miss being able to sleep over at my boyfriend’s place without getting up before the sun to make it into work on time. The misery has led me to question if it’s even worth it in the end. My lack of sleep and the never-ending pain in my feet may be temporary, but my grim outlook on life may be permanent. Will I be a different person when this is all over?

I guess at this point, I’ll just be biding my time until I can save up a decent chunk of change, or I somehow manage to start making a STEM salary in a creative field. Most likely, I’ll just slowly continue to lose my mind until I’m working zero jobs and living off anti-anxiety meds. At least I can finally finish Westworld if I’m committed to an inpatient facility for the depressed and over-worked. .

I know that this won’t be of much help coming from an internet stranger, but props for doing this and keep your head up. You will build that nest egg and have a newfound appreciation for spending/saving money, which will positively affect your financial habits for the rest of your life.

I have the same hour long commute to and from work so I signed up to drive Uber. They let you put a destination in twice a day so that you can pick people up to and from work. I make $250 a week just commuting to my salaried job four times a week. It only adds 20-30 minutes to my commute each way.

I feel you. I have my full time job as a project manager, plan weddings on the side, and guide a pub trolley on the weekends for extra cash. I can make my own schedule with the pub trolley but sometimes I question if its all going to pay off in the end.

Agreed. A minimum wage side hustle is likely not worth the opportunity cost depending on how much for full time job pays. Side hustles should be about risk (I started something on the side once, made a couple grand extremely fast and thought my life was changing only to realize business is much harder to foster than my young 24 year old self had thought).

I work as a server/ bartender for the side gig (the bartend shift is a crappy one for now hopefully I’ll snag a better one soon). It’s hard but the cash is too great not to do. It paid for my grad school when I was in grad school (graduated 2014 debt free) I highly recommend finding a better more doable side gig. And remember you can have 1 day off it’s allowed… and needed!

STEM salaries aren’t what they’re cracked up to be, not if you’re a scientist. 4 year degree and 4 years of experience as a conservation biologist had me at under $30k a year…having said that, I don’t think $250 is worth your sanity, just be a little more mindful of your spending and enjoy your time off

Admire the hustle but you’re just going about it all wrong. Ditch that Hi-can-I-have-some-more-towels gig and go for something you actually care about! Love to workout? Go check out how you can be an instructor at your closest Barre studio or spin class. Have a favorite boutique store? Try to get a 20 hour/week part-time job helping people gets some fits off. If nothing else Hell at least you’ll get a discount. Sure, time working after already putting 9 hours in blows no matter what it is…currently in this boat as well….but do it someplace you actually give a fuck about. It makes waking up before the sun on the weekends a LOT more doable and you actually may find some place willing to throw you 10-13 bucks an hour tipping you over that $250/ check mark. Ditch the hotel, and turn one of your passions into a money maker.

Second this one. My side hustle is lifeguarding and teaching swim lessons at a gym. Not only do I get paid to do something I don’t hate, but I also get a free gym membership on top of it. And I make my own schedule.

I feel you girl. I have a side hustle beyond the 50 hours M-F my “Senior Analyst” title demands. I referee ice hockey. Love the game love the exercise but there will be days I put 10 in the office, then referee from 7p-11p for a few days on end. Even better when there is a big tournament in town, I will 24-30 hours on the ice from Friday at 5pm until Sunday eve.

Same dude. I keep telling myself I’m getting paid for cardio, until two knuckleheads who had a few too many parking lot beers decide I’m going to have to write a report after the game. Those days aren’t ideal, but the passion/money mix is hard to beat.

I commiserate. I do the crazy long commute too, and I’m also barely making ends meet. Have you ever read/listened to Dave Ramsey? He has a really great podcast where he answers financial/debt related questions, and it’s really helped me (ya girl has about a quarter million in student loans). Also, check out Upwork. There are some shady jobs, but most are legit, and they’re writing/editing/virtual assistant positions.

That’s college + law. Probably about $16k from college, the rest from law school, when all is said and done it’ll be a number 2 with five other numbers behind it. I either need to make bank or work in legal aid for the next decade.

I did this for several years at my first office job right out of college. I was making an entry level salary so I waited tables and bartended on the weekends. I didn’t have a day off for 2-3 years. I quit doing this once I switched jobs a few times to get me to a decent salary where I didn’t need a second job anymore.

However, I look back on that time fondly. Nothing like doing some side hustles to get the juices Flowing. I was also able to save a ton of money since I had very little free time to go out or spend money. Keep at it, you won’t have the energy or will to do this in your 30’s or 40’s.